Friday, November 17, 2006

A visit to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Today we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a place where about 20,000 inmates were imprisoned, tortured and sent for killing in the killing fields just outside the city (a place we will visit during our time here). The victims were all accused of opposing the regime, Democratic Kampuchea, known as Khmer Rouge. When the regime fell, the liberators only managed to find seven survivors.

The DK regime took over this high school, in September 1975, just 5 months after they 'liberated' Phnom Penh. It had a very curious name, Tuol Sleng meaning both a poisonous hill or a place to keep those who bear a supply of guilt. The centre became known as S 21.